Puddles of Ocean
by MarshmellowDragon
Summary: Ace, Sabo and Luffy wake up in a cave.  A mystery cave!  A prison of a cave.  A slave trader cave. Three boys versus the cold, the damp, the dark and the depraved.  Now, to escape.
1. The Cave

**Puddles of Ocean**

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><p>Luffy was drooling in his sleep again.<p>

That had to be it, since Sabo's shorts were soaked. Sleepily, he kicked out, trying to shake Luffy off or something. He could drool all he wanted, but Sabo wanted his shorts left outta it. This was the only good pair he had!

Except when he kicked, it made a splashing noise. Now normally, when he kicked things, he didn't make splashing noises. Odd. Sabo tried opening his eyes, just to check and make sure that Luffy hadn't flooded their room with his drool or something.

Except that it was just as dark when he opened his eyes. Double odd. Blinking didn't seem to help the problem any. Their lantern must have gone out. And the stars and moon had gotten hidden somewhere along the way. Though, now that he thought about it, it felt a lot like there was something pointy digging into his back. Too sharp to be one of his brothers' misplaced limbs, it kinda felt like…

Rocketing into a sitting position, Sabo suddenly realized that this wasn't their tree fort. It wasn't home. It was pitch black, and he was sitting in what felt like a shallow stream. Those were rocks under his hands, and he had no idea where he was. He had no idea where his brothers were.

"Ace! Luffy!" He called immediately, frantically trying to look for them in the darkness. They had to be here. Wherever here was. Shakily, the soaked boy stood, feeling around blindly in search of dry land, or at least something to tell him where he was. In the dark, he stumbled over rocks that he couldn't see, scrambling madly to regain his balance every time. And he was just getting the hand of it too, when he finally tripped.

Flailing wildly, Sabo landed face first in the water. Great, now he was soaked on _both_ sides. Wonderful.

"Wha?" Sleepily questioned the not-actually-a-log that he'd tripped over.

"Ace!" Never before had Sabo been so glad that Ace took up so much space when he slept.

"How's there…What the…When did it start flooding?"

"Not a flood." Sabo corrected as he dug himself out of the muck with a squelch. "I don't think we're in the fort anymore."

"Gee, you think?" Ace groaned as he sat up, holding his head tenderly. "Ugh, I'm soaked. What the hell is going on? Who turned out the lights?"

"Why would I know? I'm just glad I'm not alone." With a grunt, Sabo helped his brother off the floor. Though, not before accidentally elbowing him in the face; being in the dark wasn't all that great for coordination. "This place is creepy enough as it is without being alone." He muttered sullenly, wringing out his equally soaked hat.

"Alone?" Ace paused, gears turning in his head. There was someone else he knew who didn't like being alone. Someone who was very vocal about hating loneliness. Someone who had the god-awful habit of needing to be bailed out by his brothers.

Ace swore.

"Where's Luffy?" He groaned.

"Nearby? Maybe. You were pretty close."

"Then let's find him before he gets eaten by a gator or something." And that was being optimistic. Highly more likely: Luffy was dangling over a ravine with a lion, a tiger, a bear and Garp waiting at the bottom. That was just how his luck ran. Shakily, Ace picked a direction and felt his way forward through the darkness.

"Maybe, I feel like he's a bit overdue for getting eaten by a gator." Sabo mentioned as he waded off in what might have been the other direction, feeling the water for his lost brother. "What's it been, a month?"

"Five weeks and two days." Ace muttered, trying very hard not to trip over some of the larger rocks and fall flat on his face. It was a losing battle. He was gonna have a black eye from that last fall. He knew it. Huh, at least the dark meant no one would see it.

"Not that you're counting or anything."

"Of course."

Sabo found him first, leaning against what felt like a rockface. Their youngest brother was still asleep then. He hadn't spoken a word when his older brother had tripped over him.

"Got him. Not a gator in sight either. Lucky." Maybe no gators, but Sabo's voice still shook. Luffy was too quiet, too cold, and his breaths were too shallow. He wasn't even snoring. And considering that Luffy's snores were confused for earthquakes on occasion, that was saying something.

Ace scuttled over as quickly as he could in the dark, hearing the tremor in Sabo's voice and kind of terrified in a way he would definitely be denying later. Sabo was already on the floor, checking the youngest brother over as best he could without any light. And it wasn't that Ace didn't trust Sabo to be thorough or anything, but it was just that he felt a little better by personally making sure that all Luffy's limbs were where they were supposed to be.

And the oldest brother definitely didn't sigh in relief at the end of his checkup. Really. "The idiot's fine. Nothing broken or bleeding." He grumbled almost happily. "Wake up already you lazy-ass." When nothing happened, Ace resorted to the oldest trick in the book.

Bonk him over the head.

"Huh?" Luffy spluttered, hands flying up to nurse at the bump forming.

"There we go." Sabo grinned. "Now we can all be wet and cold and conscious together!" Greedy for the contact in this strange place, the younger brother latched onto Sabo, who hadn't hit him today. Yet.

"Where are we?" Luffy asked in a too-tired voice, face half-buried in Sabo's jacket.

"Hell if I know." Ace muttered. He'd used up too much worry on Luffy, and now hadn't any left to worry about the fact that he had no idea where they were.

Ah, that was it! Sabo suddenly realized as Luffy tried and failed to pull himself up. It had to be the water that was causing this not-quite sleepiness, the shallow breaths and the general lack of noise. Otherwise, Luffy would have been complaining of hunger already. Devil Fruits and water hated getting along.

"It sounds like we're inside." Sabo offered finally as he stood and felt his way along the rock wall that Luffy had been sitting against. "Maybe a cave, these walls feel natural. Oi, are you just gonna sit there? Or are you actually gonna help?" This last bit had been directed at the oldest brother, still sitting. Ace grumbled a bit at the jab, but Sabo still heard him dutifully splash over to the wall.

The three of them felt their way around the perimeter, with Luffy still half-clinging to Sabo like some kinda monkey the whole way. The darkness didn't make it easy, and the youngest brother kept on tripping and falling, usually resulting in a three brother pile-up.

By the end of it, Sabo felt even more soaked, if that was possible.

The investigation yielded little about where they were, but a bit more about their situation. There were a few larger boulders that jutted up out of the water, but the rest of the floor was submerged up to their ankles. Most of the enclosure was natural, except for the unnerving discover of an opening on one side covered by a metal grate. No lights, no exits, no furniture, and nothing but them and some tiny crabs and a starfish.

In short: A cage. A cage with elbow room, but still a cage.

"What the hell?" Ace roared as he tried to shake the bars loose. The metal barely rattled, taking the abuse without complaint and without signs of yielding.

Luffy, obviously feeling a little more awake now, was instead gnawing on the bars. He fared no better. Sabo kicked the grate pointlessly, more for something to do than an actual escape attempt.

"I bet it was Bluejam." Ace muttered, hopping down from his perch on the bars when they failed to move.

"Bluejam is too dumb to catch us." Sabo dismissed the claim quickly. Though, it definitely was a thought. Bluejam might have been dumb and stupid and old, but he'd been a pirate for a long time. Longer than Ace and Sabo and Luffy had lived even when you added their lives all together.

"Then who? Someone had to put us here." Ace continued, this time trying to jiggle the bars closer to the ground.

"I bet Ace was sleepwalking again." Luffy giggled.

"Yeah, then why'd you follow me, moron?" He bit back.

"Sleepwalking is contagious! We had no choice!"

"It doesn't work like that!"

"How do you know?"

"Cuz I'm ten, and you're seven! Talk to me when you grow up."

"No fair, you always say that!"

"Of course it's fair, that's why it always works!"

Sabo held up a hand, then realized that the gesture did no good in the dark.

"I hear someone!" He hissed, breaking up the fight in a moment. He could hear Ace yank Luffy away from the grate, and hoped that they were hidden. Sabo ducked behind one of the larger boulders, and watched as light slowly crept into their room.

Whoever it was, they were walking down a hallway that Sabo could only see now that there was light. On the bright side, that meant there was actual solid ground on the other side of the grate. On the not so bright side, this meant that this wasn't just sleepwalking or something, and that someone actually wanted them here.

The footsteps continued down the hallway, stopping every once in a while. Metal would creak, like a hinge being opened and shut, and Sabo hoped that meant these things could open. If they could just take this guy by surprise, it'd be no sweat to just knock him over and run. So long as Ace didn't try picking any fights, they'd be fine.

A lantern appeared through the grate and Sabo ducked immediately, hoping that they hadn't seen him. Getting caught so soon would be such a Luffy thing to do. He waited, legs tensing as he got ready to sprint; then finally, the click of a key in a lock.

That was his cue.

Leaping over the boulder, Sabo made for the newly opened grate, focusing only on running as fast as his legs could carry him. Just run, run fast, run away and don't look back until you're clear, he told himself. Don't trip, don't falter, just move! He'd make it, he was gonna make it, he had to make it!

He didn't make it.

A hand grabbed Sabo by the scruff of his neck before he could get too far, and the middle brother suddenly found himself staring down a rather amused-looking-bandit-type figure.

Ace and Luffy, halfway to the door, stood frozen in horror.

"Oh, you're up." Said the bandit with a smile that showed far too many teeth. "Dinner?"

In a brief and terrible moment, Sabo came to the conclusion that _he_ was dinner.

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><p><em>I don't own One Piece, and I'm not making any money from this fanfiction.<em>

_Here's my attempt at Ace and Luffy and Sabo being brotherly and having an adventure. Woo. Man do I wish you could chose three characters though. (This seems to be a recurring problem with me and the One Piece fanfics) But alas, I think the spotlight might focus on Ace and Sabo just a teeny-tiny bit more than Luffy here, if only because of the fact that Luffy is only 7 here. Plus, come on, there aren't enough Sabo fics. (Actually, I think there aren't really enough fics in general except for OC-centered ones in this section, but that's another kettle of fish)_

_Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!  
><em>


	2. The Slave Trader

**Chapter 2: The Slave Trader  
><strong>

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><p>But when they didn't answer, each a little too frozen with fear, the man shrugged, tossing Sabo back in their cage with a flick of his wrist. Using his now free hand, the man dug a few battered tin cans out of his pockets, which he tossed in as well.<p>

And before any of them could make a second attempt for the door, he slammed it in their faces.

Stepping forward, Ace eyed the food warily. "I've been told not to accept food from strangers." The oldest said slowly. He wasn't dumb. He knew what kinda crap people could slip in your food when you weren't watching. He'd seen idiots have their throats slit in a drug-induced laughing fit because they hadn't been careful.

"Rahahahaha. Don't worry 'bout it, these are clean. We don't need you sleeping now that you're here, kids. I could get you the drugged ones if you prefer, though. They did such a good job on the way over."

So this guy had put them here!

Ace seethed. No one was allowed to talk to him like some snot-nosed brat and get away with it. He'd painstakenly taught the low-lives around edge town that lesson, and some stupid bars weren't gonna keep him from defending himself from just another stupid punk.

"Forget that, we demand answers!" Ace yelled through the bars, Luffy nodding silently from behind him. Why they were here. How they had gotten here. What the hell that guy was looking so amused for. Those would be great places to start.

"Sure. What do you want to know?"

"And we won't take no for an answer!" Ace continued. Paused. Processed.

"Wait, what?"

"Over the years, I've found that in this case, and just this case, knowing is a lot scarier than not." The man crossed his arms over his chest, practically oozing amusement at their antics. Ace really, really wanted to punch his face in. But then again, Ace wanted to punch most people's faces in, so that wasn't too surprising.

"My name is Dulcet, boss of the Merry Men. We deal mostly in slaves. The Tennryuubito are coming round to this part of East Blue in a few months. Their last stop is at the island we picked you up at, actually. And where those pompous asses go, we follow."

Blank looks.

"The World Nobles." Dulcet tried. Still blank. He sighed. "Kids these days. Look, just think about it like this; they can do whatever the hell they want, whenever they want, wherever they want."

"Oh, you had us worried." Ace grinned as he spoke. This didn't sound too bad. They'd dealt with self-entitled nutjobs before. He'd actually been working on a standard plan for handling egotistical maniacs. So far, he'd decided that it started with busting their nose and ended with some arrogant laughter of his own.

"I don't see how that's any different from a country that treats everyone who isn't a noble like trash." Sabo spat. He knew something about running away from nobles. He'd done it once, to his own parents. He could do it again to strangers.

"Brave words, kid. But let's see how you feel after you've been a slave, hmm? You can cry and whine all you like about your little corrupt government, but you can always run away. Always escape. Not with these guys. Once they've got you, you're theirs for life. These guys, they can call a marine admiral down on you if you so much as look at them funny."

Gramps was a vice-admiral. Luffy struggled to imagine somebody stronger than Gramps, an actual admiral, and couldn't manage it. There couldn't be people stronger than Gramps, that was just dumb. There was no way that anyone's fist could hurt more than his.

"You see, these guys have a certain taste in their slaves. They like them exotic. They love natives. Tormenting little freaks like you just makes their day." Maybe Ace wouldn't have been quite so angry if the guy hadn't been staring straight at Luffy while he was talking. No one was allowed to call Luffy a freak except for him and Sabo.

"So we've humbly taken it upon ourselves to round up the most interesting of the area whenever the Tennryubito come a'knockin. Because what kinda vacation doesn't have souvenirs? And we'll make a pretty penny selling you to them. We always do." Said Dulcet with an air of finality.

As one, Ace and Sabo each took a protective step in front of Luffy, the man's words their cue to play the part of dutiful older sibling. Neither one liked the way that he was looking at their brother like a prime cut of steak.

The guy had no right to look so amused.

"Course, if we can't sell ya this time. Another tourist will come round eventually. Or who knows, some of the big shot traders from the grand line stop by on occasion when they hit a dry spot over there. Maybe you'll get sold over there. Who knows?" Was he leering at Luffy? Because he looked one sick comment away from licking his lips.

"We haven't had kids for a while. Usually the devil fruit freaks we catch are a lot older, y'know? Course, you can stretch, and there are definitely some perverted sickos out there who don't care how old you are when you got powers like that."

Okay, that had _definitely_ been a leer. Ace was putting a stop to this.

"See? Even that guy agrees you're a rubber freak." The older brother grinned almost reassuringly at Luffy, trying to remind him he wasn't alone. He was safe, safe enough to laugh at a joke. It worked. Kinda. Sorta. In a way that only brothers could make it work.

"I am not!" Luffy piped up, totally ignoring the sentiment and going for a fight instead. Eh, good enough.

"Oh? Then what are you?" Ace continued, playing along.

"A rubber pirate!" The youngest brother yelled triumphantly.

"He says he's a rubber pirate." Ace relayed. "Not a freak. Guess we don't meet your criteria. So you'd better let us go."

Mature as always, Luffy agreed by sticking his tongue out.

"Ah, that's cute." Dulcet grinned. "I'll make sure to let the customers know how cute you three are together. Maybe they won't separate you." Unworried, the man closed his bag, obviously done with the food handouts for the day. And without another word, he turned on his heel, trodding back the way he'd come.

And taking the lantern with him.

"Hey! We're not done talking here! Let us out! Hey!" Ace's shouts went unheeded as Dulcet kept walking, and the darkness kept coming. A few other voices joined Ace's in outrage further down the hallway, and it occurred to him that they weren't alone in this place. They hadn't been the first, and probably wouldn't be the last.

"Get back here!" He hollered, frustrated as the light moved on and out. Next to him, Luffy's hand scrabbled to fist itself in Ace's shirt, tugging at the abused threads, searching for comfort that wasn't coming. Not now. Not while that stupid worthless piece of crap was just _walking away_ and ignoring Ace like he wasn't there.

Then as the dark returned, Luffy slowly slunk back from the bars, retreating in defeat. And Sabo had stayed down where he'd been thrown. Ace wanted to yell at them too, to scream. They were giving up! Just like that! "Coward!" He finally yelled after the bandit instead. "You can't even fight me like a man!"

Dulcet just ignored him.

Disgusted, Ace kicked at the bars as the light faded. It didn't do any good, but it made him feel better. Just a little. Like when he punched would-be muggers in the face even after he'd taken everything they owned. Or when he managed to make Garp trip over his own shoelaces.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the cell, broken only by the scrabbling of Luffy's feet on the pebbles as he stumbled over to the 'presents' Dulcet had left behind.

Groaning, Sabo finally stood. "Let's find those cans before it's too dark to see anything again." The blond spoke up at length, slowly reaching for one that had ended up by his feet. Dinner was sounding pretty good right about now, especially since he had no idea how long they'd been out.

Luffy nodded in agreement as he gnawed idly on a second can, then muttered darkly as it refused to give up its food-y goodness. It was always a good time for dinner time. Or so Luffy thought. Still seething from Dulcet's dismissal, Ace yanked the can out of his brother's grasp, tossing it into the dark corners of the room.

"I don't want to rely on whatever scraps those guys are feeding us." He spat, holding Luffy back from chasing after it. "I don't like it."

"Fine, drink saltwater then. Eat rocks for all I care. I'm sure you won't die or anything." Sabo said. Unbothered, the blond felt around until he picked up another can from the pebbles. Luffy the human can opener had better luck with this one, cracking the tin after a few good gnaws at it. Something a bit like the unholy child of meat and plastic seeped out.

"They're probably still drugged." Ace continued unhindered, making another grab for Luffy in the darkness. Predictably, he missed, since Luffy's fighting instincts seemed to jump from bunny to three-headed tiger whenever there was food involved. "Maybe they won't put us to sleep, but maybe they make you woozy or dumb or something. So that you can't think of a way out."

"If you're worried about them making us into morons, don't worry. Luffy can't get any dumber, so we'll rely on him." Sabo paused. Replayed the sentence in his head.

"Did I just-?"

"Yeah. You just said that we could rely on Luffy. They must have already got you."

"You might be right." The blond responded with all seriousness.

When Luffy failed to answer the blond, Ace frowned in the darkness. Normally, their youngest brother would rise to any insult. It was cathartic, kinda. Instead, Sabo was answered with only a few slurps.

…slurps…

"Oi don't eat all of it!" Sabo shrieked, finally realizing that he'd left Luffy alone with food for too long.

In response, Luffy roared. So began food war three hundred and forty two.

Ace glared at where he imaged the cans might be on the floor, hoping that in the next five seconds he could develop the power to de-toxify all food and drink. When his limbs failed to tingle and his head declined to swim or ache, the boy glumly accepted that no, he wasn't going to develop superpowers on the spot. It'd been a nice try though.

Sabo was right, not that Ace would ever admit it. It was either use this stuff or develop a hole in his stomach. He knew from experience that starfish were worse than inedible.

"Right, we've got five cans left. Three of them have water. We'll make them last." Ace counted, ignoring the cries and shrieks in the background. Learning to tune Luffy out had been one of the first skills he'd learned after he'd met him. And Sabo could take care of himself. "The last two have food." Ace finally concluded after a little more shaking.

Food. Right there in his hand. His stomach growled.

Luffy took it as a war cry.

"Mine!" Howled the youngest brother in response, jaws clamping onto Ace's skull with unnatural accuracy in the darkness as the oldest tried to make a grab for one of the cans.

"Let others eat too!" He roared, slapping Luffy into a far wall. Geeze, all that work he'd gone through to pain-stakenly train Luffy not to try and grab his food, wasted because of a few hours in a lousy cell. It was gonna take _weeks_ to retrain the idiot not to touch Ace's food during mealtimes.

In the confusion, Sabo was able to search the pebbles until he found the last can, then quietly nicked it for himself. Luffy was hungry, it was every brother for himself now. The best thing he could do would be to eat all that he could before the youngest brother had a chance to steal it. Because honestly, trying to teach Luffy how to ration food was never gonna work.

Ick. Then again, Sabo was beginning to doubt that this stuff really counted as food in the first place.

Without light, Ace could only listen to his brothers. Sabo muttered to himself, occasionally banging his tin against a rock – his teeth weren't quite at Luffy-levels of can-opening expertise. The rubber idiot himself was sullenly continued sucking on his prize, trying to coax the last bit of plastic and/or food from the corners of the tin.

Slowly, the sounds of dining died away, and something almost like a comfortable silence drifted over the trio. Save for the dark, and the cold, and the wet, Ace counted himself lucky. The setting wasn't familiar, but at least the people were. He wasn't alone.

"Let's get some sleep." Ace finally spoke up.

"What? Are you crazy? You just went on a huge rant about how they're gonna drug us so we can't get out." Sabo protested.

"I don't like it any more than you do, but we can't do anything without some kinda light. Unless you wanna stumble into some monster pit on the way out. Then be my guest."

"But, what if it doesn't get light?" Sabo questioned slowly.

"What, you think the sun isn't gonna rise without us out there to greet it in the morning?" Ace taunted, ignoring Sabo's hesitance. He was just being paranoid now.

"Poor Mr. Sun." Luffy added without sarcasm. "He's gonna miss us. I hope he doesn't get too sad."

"No, it's just, I mean…we're in a cave!" Sabo spluttered, as if that could that explain everything. Which it didn't, because Ace was still pretty sure that it was all just in the blond's head. Or that the bandits had decided the best way to subdue them would be to make them paranoid.

"Look, it's too dark to train. Too dark to see what we have to work with. Almost too dark to take a piss. If it's still like this in the morning – which it won't be – then we'll figure something out." Ace settled down against a rockwall with a splash of finality. "G'night."

End of argument. Or at least Ace wanted it to be. Sabo bit his lip, wondering if it was worth fighting it. Ace was stupidly stubborn, and if the food really had been drugged (he tried not to think about that one too hard), then the blond would need all the IQ points he had left to figure a way out. He couldn't waste them on a fight that would probably be rendered pointless by Luffy passing out first.

"Fine. Night." Sabo finally sighed in defeat, finding a comfy-ish wall of his own to lean against.

"I'm not sleepy, I'm – OW! Ace, why d'you have to hit so hard?"

They slept.

This lasted for a whopping two minutes.

"I'm cold." Sabo finally complained.

"I might be a little chilly." Ace conceded.

"Still hungryyyyyyyyy." Luffy whined.

"Alright, you guys know the drill. Huddle up!" Barked the oldest.

"I call middle! It's warmer there." Middle child, middle spot, it was only logical, right?

"No fair!" Luffy had the same counter to any argument.

"Look, we'll take turns sleeping in the middle. We'll switch every night." Decided Ace, trying to be diplomatic about the whole thing.

"You think we're gonna be here long enough to switch?" Sabo sincerely hoped not, but the question had to be asked.

"Of course not! That's why I get to sleep in the middle first." Well, diplomacy had never been Ace's strongpoint in the first place.

"Hey, still not fair!"

"Rock paper scissors?" The blond suggested. They'd used it for such important decisions as who had to be tiger bait (Luffy), who had to steal Dadan's clothes for their flag (again, Luffy), and who had to dispose of leftover bones from their meals (still Luffy – maybe it wasn't all that fair after all…).

"We won't be able to see who won." Pointed out Ace.

"We can just say what we did, right?"

"Fine."

"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" As one, the three recited the age-old chant. Or at least, as old as Dadan. She'd been the one to teach them. It might have been the _only_ thing she'd taught them (Other than the fact that no, digging holes did not work as valid trap options).

"Rock." Admitted Ace.

"Me too." Sabo added. "Luffy?"

"Ah. I uh, I did paper! Totally! Really! There's no way I did scissors or anything stupid like that ahahahaha…"

Ace was glad he'd chosen rock; it made it easier to hit Luffy over the head when his hand was already in a fist.

"Idiot! This is why I said it wouldn't work. I'll go first cuz I'm oldest. Then Sabo cuz he didn't try to cheat like a moron. Then Luffy. Maybe."

"Maybe we should just use him as a blanket. He does stretch, afterall." The blond spoke up, drowning out Luffy's whine.

"Huh. That might work." Ace agreed, also pointedly ignoring Luffy's complaints.

And so, to the protests of their youngest brother, Ace and Sabo slept well that night, warm-ish and snug under their stretched rubber blanket and definitely not worried that they might have been in a teeny tiny bit too much over their heads.

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><p><em>Still don't own One Piece. Sad.<em>

_Oh man oh man oh man though, has anyone else read chapter 634? I wanted to twirl like Bon-chan. 50,000 men k'pwnd. Ah, thank you Oda for returning the kickass. I was a little scared for a while. WHY SO AWESOME LUFFY. WHY.  
><em>

_Thanks a ton to **Shiary** and **Allyanime** for their reviews! It means a lot. Also thanks to everyone who read, fav'd and/or watched this thing.  
><em>


	3. The Attempt

**Chapter 3: The Attempt  
><strong>

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><p>Dadan was used to not seeing the three monsters for days at a time. Hell, she looked forward to it. And no, you couldn't rely on the little shits to tell you anything, so it wasn't like she knew where they ran off to whenever she tried to hand one a mop or a broom.<p>

But, well, they hadn't been in their tree fort last night. They hadn't even reset the booby trap in their fort last night, which they always did, regardless of whether they were sleeping there or gonna be gone for any respectable amount of time. Not that Dadan was keeping track or anything. It was just that she'd been launched out a window a few days earlier, and figured that they would have had time to reset the damn thing by now.

She visited again in the morning, this time with her men. Because if those kids had come back again in the middle of the night, she'd rather it was one of her faithful crew that got launched through the treetops. She'd had enough of this flying business to last a lifetime, thankyouverymuch.

"No sign of 'em!" Shouted Kozo. He paused to knock on wood. "And I'm still in one piece, so no traps!"

Dadan frowned, grinding her cigarette between her teeth. They were probably just off training, and had lost track of time. Or they'd been caught out after dark, and decided to camp in the forest and wait until it was light out. She could turn away with a clean conscience, and just save herself the effort. Go home. Read a magazine. Terrorize some hikers.

"Start looking." She ordered. Gah! Mutiny of the mouth!

"Yes boss!"

"I want no rock unturned, no tree unclimbed! We find those little brats before Garp gets here. We can't make his kids into marines for him if they've gone missing."

* * *

><p>Shivering, Sabo woke up to an almost-dry floor. But the pebbles were still damp, and if he dug just a tiny bit, water filled the holes.<p>

Still, it was an improvement.

Rubbing his arms to try and generate heat, the blond thought warm thoughts. Fires. Chili peppers. Fried Fish. Blankets. Warm, thick, soft blankets. Dry clothes. Oh dry clothes sounded _so_ great right about now.

Huddling in on himself to keep warm, Sabo watched as hints of what might have been sunlight crept in from the hallway. And even though it was barely enough for Sabo to see his hand even when it was only inches from his face, it was still an improvement. Not by much though. He was still gonna be walking into walls and tripping into puddles.

Next to him, he could hear Ace shift and turn. Luffy must have snapped back to normal at some point during the night, so the three of them were scattered around the cave. Explained the cold, at least. He had to wonder how long they'd been out, or at least how long they'd been separated.

It was _freezing_ in here. Had he mentioned that already?

Sabo took Luffy's sneeze to be one of agreement.

But it was impossible to tell what time it was in the cave. Sabo shivered as he tried not to linger too long on that thought. Else he'd start wondering how long they'd actually been here. Start wondering if they hadn't been drugged some more after all. Start wondering if it had been weeks instead of the hours that it felt like.

Gahhhhhh.

Sabo staggered to his feet, determined to wipe away the thoughts of the cold and the dark and the freezing and the distinct lack of time. A good piss would do. He made sure to kick Ace awake on his way to somewhere less populated; he felt the need to rub it in that it hadn't gotten any lighter.

"Hmm? S'up?"

"Cave is still dark." Sabo answered back, more than a little smug that he'd been right. There was the sound of pebbles crunching underfoot, probably Ace trying to stand and shake the sleep out of his eyes, then a high pitched whine and some cursing that was almost definitely Ace tripping over Luffy.

"So now what?" Sabo asked as he felt his way back from the corner.

"We break out of here! Dumbass." Ace wasn't really a morning person. Though, again, Sabo wondered if it was really morning at all.

"I knew that already, smartass. I meant _how_. You were the one going on about how we needed light to get outta here." The blond parried.

"Hey guys, can I be hungryass? Cuz I'm hungry." Said Luffy sleepily, still rubbing the sand from his eyes.

"Stop thinking with your stomach! You can eater later!" Luffy's hunger whines had been funny at first, but now all they did was serve as a reminder that Sabo's stomach was growling too. And probably Ace's as well. Maybe those tins were enough for other people, but their appetites demanded more. They could demolish an entire crocodile for dinner – that kind of spoke for itself.

Starving wasn't a pretty way to go.

GAH. Pessimism. It wasn't helping anyone.

"There's a way outta here somewhere." Ace mumbled resolutely from somewhere to Sabo's left, leaving a whimpering Luffy in his wake. Fumbling in the dark, the blond tried to pat Luffy on the back, possibly even give him a one-armed hug kind of thing, to remind him that they were all hungry and grumpy. Not because he was soft or anything, but because if Luffy started sniffling or crying, Ace would just get more pissed, and then they'd _never _get anything done.

"Ow! What was that for?" Though, in the end all Sabo ended up doing was adding another lump to Luffy's already abused skull. Hey, it wasn't his fault; he wasn't the one who'd decided to turn out the lights.

We-ell anyway, they could focus on feeling better when they were outta here.

Sabo stumbled over to where he knew the bars were, feeling around for where he remembered the lock being. He could feel his lockpicking stuff still snug and safe in his boot, but he was used to dealing with the things from the other side. And with a great deal more light. At this angle, all he'd get were arm cramps and a broken pick.

For a brief moment, he considered the fact that Luffy could stretch, and would be able to reach the lock no problem, funny angle and all.

And then he remembered that the last time he'd tried teaching lockpicking, in a well lit room no less, the only result had been more broken picks, and a fire-breathing Dadan when they told her that yeah, the lock on her chest of nice-ish clothing and cute little animal figurines was kinda sorta totally broken beyond repair.

No good, they definitely needed a key for that thing. Though, as he brought his arms back through the bars, a thought came to him. One so simple he was surprised they hadn't thought of it last night. Hell, he was surprised the bandits hadn't thought of it, and taken preventative measures. It wasn't perfect, it wouldn't work for all of them, but it was definitely a start.

They were the big brothers after all. It was their duty to make sure that their weak little brother was looked after.

"I think we don't need light after all." Sabo grinned. "I mean, feel these things. I can almost fit my head through there. And if I can almost do it…" Sabo trailed off meaningfully, glancing at where he thought Luffy was.

Silence.

Eh, crud. Visual cues weren't working.

"We'll push Luffy through." Sabo supplied.

"What?" Yelped Luffy.

Ace didn't say anything for a moment, though the blond could just about hear the cogs turning in his brain, hacking out the same though that Sabo had just had. And although they could barely see each other in the dark, Sabo could feel it when Ace caught on; could feel the silent agreement. It wasn't the best plan, not by a long shot. It wouldn't do anything for them, but if they were able to get at least Luffy out, it was a start.

"That's a great idea! C'mere you." Said Ace.

"What? No! Stop! I'm not gonna fit!"

"Yeah you are! Sabo, grab his legs!"

This was easier said than done.

The moment Sabo pounced, Luffy flailed. And while the rubber boy's aim was, on a regular basis, more than horrible and always in need of correcting, the law of annoying younger brothers dictated that it was pin-point accurate in the dark. Luffy scored a kick to Sabo's chin before bounding off to some corner of the cave. Ace's cursing meant that the rubber boy had probably landed a matching punch on him as well.

Two hits in less than a minute. Well, miracles _did_ happen.

Relentless, Sabo chased after Luffy in the dark, tripping and slipping and almost crashing headfirst into several walls in the noble and tedious quest to actually grab the idiot by the ankles. The cave was only so big, but Luffy was made of rubber and could bounce off walls whenever he wanted to.

"That way!" Ace shouted from somewhere to Sabo's left.

"Which way!" Directions did absolutely no good in here. If Ace hadn't been so pissed already, Sabo would've loved to point out how good a training exercise this was. You never knew when you were gonna haveta chase dinner into somewhere dark. Sabo's outstretched arms came up against cave wall before he could run full into it, and he rebounded, hoping to catch Luffy off guard.

Instead, Sabo grunted as he collided with something decidedly not rubber and more Ace-shaped.

"Watch where you're going, moron!"

"You're the moron! Or have you forgotten that we can't see!"

"Shishishi, can't catch me!"

"Why you little-!" But the laughter had given their brother away. With a blind lunge, Sabo managed to loop an arm around Luffy, tackling him to the ground. In the chaotic scuffle that followed, the blond even somehow managed to pin one of the boy's flailing arms.

"Ahah!" The blond crowed. "Not so smug now."

"Noooo! Lemme go!"

Ace damn near tripped over them _again_ in the dark, but came through all the same as he grabbed onto Luffy's wrists and held tight. He was like the anti-houdini, God help any mugger, tiger or rubber idiot who happened to get a limb caught in his iron grip. Sabo grunted as they began pulling Luffy through the pebbles. It took way more effort than it should have. The rubber arms and legs had gone slack, making it impossible for the two of them to actually carry Luffy anywhere; a slow drag was the only way to go.

"Headfirst, so he can't get his legs caught on purpose." Sabo nodded, hefting Luffy by the ankles so that he had even less leverage to break free.

"Nooooooo!" Luffy whined as they began pushing his head through the bars.

"Stop complaining! What're you worried about anyway?"

"I'm gonna get stuck!"

"Yeah." Ace grunted, trying to use Luffy's armpits as leverage to push him through. "You'll get stuck on the other side of the bars instead of in here, and then you can get outta this stupid cave. So like I said, stop complaining!"

There was a pop.

Not really sure what had happened, Sabo frowned as he felt the bars. Well, he was still holding Luffy's legs, so they weren't done yet. But…ah. That was it. Luffy's head had popped through to the other side of the bars. This close to the grate, Sabo could just make out Ace's grin of triumph in the dark.

"Ah! I'm gonna be stuck here forever! I really am!" Luffy screeched.

"Quiet, idiot!" Sabo wasn't quite sure why Ace bothered shushing Luffy, they'd made much more noise trying to catch him.

In any case, the shoulders were proving to be the hard part. Too many bones to squeeze easily. "Turn him sideways! Maybe he'll fit that way."

"This way?"

"No, the other way!"

"Be more specific, I can't see anything!" Frustrated with the whole directions thing, Sabo gave up trying and just put all his extra energy into pushing. Bit by bit, the two of them wedged Luffy through the opening. The shoulders gave way to the chest, and the chest to the stomach. The pebbles didn't give the best leverage, and both of them kept slipping whenever the ground gave way. In short, Sabo was really beginning to hate pebbles. Especially wet ones. All they did was get stuck in your boots and made you trip.

Then with one last push, Luffy's hips were through, and the rest of him followed without so much as a nudge. Luffy was out. He was free.

This took a moment to sink in.

Then the rubber boy sprung up from the ground with a whoop of excitement. "Ah, I'm not stuck anymore! Not stuck not stuck not stuck!" Luffy did a happy little tap dance on the other side of the bars, and Sabo couldn't help but smile. At least one of them was happy now.

"Good for you." Ace panted, still a bit wiped from the pushing. "Now get outta here." He added, voice dead-serious.

"Wait, what?" Said Luffy, pausing in his victory celebrations.

This was the part Ace and Sabo had wordlessly agreed on. That they'd get Luffy out of here first. He was their little brother, and no way were they gonna let some messed up bandit sell him as some noble's plaything. That was sick and wrong and disgusting, and they'd seen a lot of stuff in Grey Terminal. They were experts on depravity.

They were brothers goddammit. They weren't going to let some sicko noble have him.

"But…but what about you guys?" Luffy couldn't hide anything if he tried, much less the worry in his voice. Sabo could just about see Luffy's fist curled around the bars, straining like he could suddenly bring them down now that he was on the other side.

Nothing like knowing there was someone on the other side of the cage to drive home the fact that you were trapped.

"I have to get you out!" He said, shaking the bars, and when that failed, punching at them. "I'm gonna get you out!"

"No, you're not." Sabo countered, fighting to keep his voice calm. "You can't."

"But we're brothers!" Cried Luffy, who had gone back to shaking the bars since punching them had returned nothing. "I'm not leaving you here!"

"Yeah, you are. Look, we'll be fine now that we don't have to look after our weak little brother." Ace's dismissal caused Luffy to falter, his grip on the bars loosening. Sabo could almost hear Luffy's resolve crack at the words. They called Luffy weak all the time, but it was always a joke, always something to make them laugh after he'd been eaten by a gator or caught by a thug and they just needed something to bleed away the tension that he could've died.

Calling him weak now wasn't quite the same.

"You can stowaway on a ship, can't you?" The older brother finished, turning away from the bars so that his back was facing Luffy. It was probably so his face wouldn't give him away. "Just go home."

Luffy's fingers slowly slipped from their place on the bars, and he stood there, unsure of what to do, trembling in the dark. From the cold or from fear, Sabo didn't know. Either way, it only tightened his resolve to get their younger brother out of there before he could be sold.

"Go." Sabo urged. "We don't want you here!"

And that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Luffy inhaled sharply, almost like a sob, then was gone, tearing down the cavern. Sabo couldn't watch him go, but could hear him, hear the sound of sandals slapping against stone growing fainter. He could hear shouts from their fellow captives, cries for help, jeers, the occasional laugh.

And that was it. Luffy was out. They'd pulled it off – in the dark! One down, two to go. And Luffy, Luffy could take care of himself. Really.

"He'll be fine." Ace answered before Sabo could even ask. "He's good at running away. If he can get eaten by a gator and live, this will be a cakewalk. Hell, with this much of a headstart, he _might_ just beat us home." Sabo almost laughed at that. Yeah. Maybe for once, Luffy would make it to the fort first.

Though, Ace's voice lowered to an almost somber tone for his next words. "And even if he does something dumb and gets caught, they're not gonna hurt their meal ticket. He'll be okay. Really." Or maybe Ace was just reassuring himself. Who knew, sometimes.

"Yeah." Sabo gulped. "Yeah, he'll be fine."

_But what about us?_ Hung unsaid in the air.

* * *

><p><em>Still don't own it.<em>

_Thanks so much to **Nakama-ship**, **Llaelien**, **Shiary**, **Minstrano**, and **Ariiel** for their reviews! I swoon a bit (a lot) whenever reviews pop up in my email inbox. Gets me some funny looks at work. Also, of course, thanks to everybody who read/fav'd/alert'd this._

_As for the question of what is going to happen to Ace, Sabo and Luffy, and whether this will remain true to canon...well, you'll find out later. Will they really get sold? Will Dadan rescue them? Will _Makino_ rescue them? Or will they stage a jailbreak of epic proportions? Eventually, that'll be addressed.  
><em>

_Next time: Luffy's awesome adventure! Well, I mean, I guess it depends on your definition of awesome. Maybe your definition of adventure too..._


	4. The Runaway

**Chapter 4: The Runaway**

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><p>Not that he'd ever tell Ace or Sabo, but Luffy kinda-sorta-almost died right after getting outta the cave. He might have maybe been running way too fast and almost kept running right over the edge of the cave and into the water.<p>

But seriously! Who put oceans at the end of caves? That was just dumb. And Luffy knew dumb. Sabo told him he was the resident expert. He grumbled about it all the way up the rocky path from the caves; the path that was also stupidly close to the ocean. It was like those bandit guys wanted him to drown or something.

Stupid bandit guys.

And everything was so _bright!_ The harsh sun hurt his eyes after the icky gross hungry time in the caves, and he was still kinda squinting.

Hanging on for dear life, Luffy clung to the rocky wall, shivering in the ocean mist. It was taking forever to get up the cliff. He might be able to see the top. Maybe. Or he was making things up again. At least it was a path, so he didn't have to go and climb and probably fall, but it was still way too close to the water.

Worst adventure ever. Well, maybe not quite, but still kinda close? Adventures were supposed to be fun and exciting, the thrill of chasing a boar from one side of Corvo to the other and then back again, then the crackling of the campfire pulling him to sleep after a feast of meat, and the warmth of Ace and Sabo next to him.

He continued shuffling, warmed by the thought. Once he was up the cliff, they'd go home, and make the warmest, biggest campfire ever. _Ever_. Just a little bit more.

He made it to the top and immediately flopped to the ground, rolling in the grass with almost quiet laughter. _Finally_! Grass! So so so so so good. He was never gonna love grass as much as he loved it now. Rolling in it was the best feeling ever. It was scratchy and warm and tickled his nose and so awesome.

Then the sight of a run-down house stopped him mid-roll, and Luffy flattened himself to the ground. Frowning, he stared at the shack. It had to be their hideout, what else could it be? Now what?

He could run. Ace and Sabo had told him to go home. Makino had taken him to this island once, he recognized that funny looking tower with the whale on it in the distance. It only took an hour for the ferry boat to get back to Windmill Village. He could get Dadan, get some of the guys they knew in Grey Terminal, get some kinda help, and then come back for Ace and Sabo. No problem.

Except he couldn't.

What if they were gone when they got back? What if he never saw them again? What if they got sold to those noble guys? Dadan and the bandits wouldn't come help. They'd probably just keep Luffy from coming back so that Garp had at least one of them to beat up. Ace and Sabo knew that, they were just being dumb on purpose. Who would help him save them? Makino and the Mayor?

It wasn't really a question.

Mind made up, Luffy pulled himself away from the nice green grass that wasn't trying to kill him, and walked purposefully towards the hideout.

Ace and Sabo had saved him from a shack like this, once. So this time he was gonna save them! The keys had to be inside. He'd get them, and bust out his brothers no problem. Then they'd go home and have a tiger for dinner. Maybe bear. And if Dadan was in a _really_ good mood she'd let them have some dessert too!

Maybe as thanks for saving them, this time Ace and Sabo would let him have the comfy blanket. Oooh, or better yet, they'd never make him take baths _ever again_. Baths were stupid; all they were good for was getting you wet, and he got wet enough whenever he fell into the river thankyouverymuch.

Luffy circled around once, looking for a way in that wasn't the front door because even he wasn't that dumb. Hah! So take that Sabo! Almost hidden by a stack of barrels, he found a half open window instead. Hanging off the ledge, Luffy slowly pulled himself up for a look. The big guy who brought food was sleeping on a couch. There were two other guys playing cards, and a funny old lady was sharpening some knives in the corner.

Huh. Didn't he know that old lady from somewhere?

"Meow?" Luffy whirled around, expecting some weirdo bandit behind him and instead finding a purring kitty. Not quite as scary.

"Shhhhhhh!" He told the cat. "I'm trying to break in!" In response, the cat began to lick itself. And really, it wasn't bothering anyone, but Luffy was a little bit worried and more than a little on edge.

"Hey, hey! Stop that! You're too loud! I can't find the keys if you give me away." He said, making shoeing motions with his free hand.

"Meow…"

"I said shhhhhhh!" The dumb cat just kinda stared at him for a moment before going back to cleaning itself. Luffy was about to shush it again when it suddenly it hissed and bolted, disappearing before he could even bring a finger to his lips. Weird.

"Stupid cat." The boy grumbled. Cat scared off, Luffy turned back around to get another look at the room. Maybe figure out where they kept the keys.

Huh. That was funny. He didn't remember the whole room being _yellow_ before. And it hadn't had little red flowers. And it _definitely_ hadn't had buttons.

The whole room coughed.

It was around that time that Luffy realized that, oh, the room hadn't been mysteriously painted over. It was just a bandit guy standing in the window, blocking out the view of the room. Luffy looked up, looked up some more, until he finally met the eyes of the bandit. Huh.

Calmly, the boy dropped down from the window. Calmly, he began to walk away, whistling a mindless tune of innocence.

"Get him!" Roared the bandit.

Not so calmly, Luffy screamed and took off sprinting towards the treeline.

He could hear the thundering of feet behind him, an awful lot of feet. Way more than just the guys who'd been in the shack. Finally making it to the forest, he tore through the trees, stumbling and tripping and oh crap oh crap he should have thrown the cat at them when he'd had the chance.

Some guy suddenly popped up from the underbrush, roaring and swinging what might have been a hammer. Luffy screamed again, flailing his arms and trying to land a punch. It kinda worked. Almost. The boy's fist struck somewhere around the bandit's nose, but not before the hammer slammed into his back.

Anybody else would've been knocked out, but Luffy was made of rubber anyway, so it didn't matter. The blow slammed him into the ground but he bounced right back up and took the speed boost and kept running, running. He just had to get away for now. Later he'd punch all their lights out with his gum gum pistol. He would!

But for now he kept running, not really sure what he was trying to do. Make it to the town? Oh! Maybe he should climb a tree and hide! Or find a bird's nest and hide there? No no wait it'd be really cool if he-

Actually, Luffy didn't get to figure out what would've been really cool, because it was at that moment when he almost ran straight into a river. Tumbling right over the edge, he flailed frantically, grabbing the bank just before he slipped into the water below.

"Too close." He gulped, digging his toes into the cliff. Trying to put as much distance as he could between him and the water, Luffy scrambled back onto dry land. But as he peeked over the ledge, he saw he wasn't alone. Surrounded was probably a better word.

"Cm'ere you little brat, and no one gets hurt." Said the guy on the left. Might've been more convincing if he hadn't been readying his bat for a strike.

"Liar! You just wanna take me back!" Screamed the boy.

"Now now -" Luffy didn't give them a chance to finish talking, he just vaulted over the bank and charged forward. If these guys were just gonna talk then he was gonna fight! He'd taken guys down, kinda, sorta, once before. Just because there were a lot more of them didn't mean anything. He'd do it! He'd fight and win and he'd save Sabo and Ace and they'd go home.

"Gum gum pistol!" His strike hit the ground too early and completely missed the guy he'd been aiming for, but there were other bandits nearby so at least he hit someone. A bat slammed into his gut and Luffy doubled over from the force. Ace would've killed him for being so stupid and not watching what was going on.

Before Luffy could catch his breath, somebody else had grabbed him by the hair and he couldn't help the screech he made because that hurt! Clawing at the guy's arm, the boy tried to break free, and when that didn't work he kicked his leg out into somebody's side, kicked again, and kept kicking until it kinda hit the guy who was holding him up. Or at least he thought he did, because suddenly he was falling.

Luffy whipped out a leg as he landed (oh hey! Gum gum whip! He could use that for a name) just like he'd seen Ace do so many times. Didn't actually work that well though, cuz kicking their legs was like kicking iron. But he still managed to dodge the hammer guy as he came in to try another smash. Hah! Take that! Luffy was kinda sorta getting better!

Seeing a hole in the ring of guys, he tried to make a break for it. Too many bandits, there must've been six or seven or arghhhh he didn't wanna run like a wuss but he couldn't fight so many even if he was getting better and – and – and then it didn't matter because somebody's fist flew into his face and kinda stopped that train of thought.

The blow threw Luffy into the air and sailing into the river below.

This time he couldn't grab the ledge to stop his fall, and just like that he was underwater. Everything felt like lead, he kicked and struggled and tried so hard to grab onto land, but the current pushed him under and he sank. Blearily, Luffy watched the surface fade further and further away.

Everything was so…so heavy.

But…was that…that dark blob?

Ace? Sabo? Had they come to save him? He reached out a hand to the blob and could've cried because his brothers were so awesome.

Except...no.

No, he realized too late. His brothers weren't that big. It was just another bandit. He kicked and struggled again, but they grabbed him anyway and brought him to the surface. The big bandit guy, Dulcet, threw him to the ground as soon as they were out. Luffy tried to get up, to start running again, but the moment he moved, he started retching water.

He could feel ropes, they were tying him up, but he was too busy trying to get rid of the extra water to do anything about it. He grunted as the final knot was tied, but didn't have the strength for much else. He tried to bite at the ground, tried to hold on, thrashed in their grip when anybody even thought about touching him, but for all that work, somebody just threw him over their shoulders like a sack of potatoes.

Luffy could've cried. He'd been so close!

The world faded in and out as they carried him, and Luffy fought to stay awake. He had to get free. Just a little bit longer until the water wore off.

"He might've gone for help already." He heard somebody say. Twisting around to get a look, Luffy's stomach sank when he saw that they were back at the shack. All that running, and he hadn't made it far enough. Who was gonna save Ace and Sabo now?

"There's a few ways to find out." Somebody else, big bandit guy maybe, said. Luffy was tossed from one bandit to another until he was face to face with Dulcet.

"Kid, you tell anyone? About this? I'd rather not move this batch too soon. Too much effort."

"Blehhhh, why the hell would I tell you?" Luffy replied, sticking his tongue out for good measure. He wasn't gonna let these guys know anything! And he kinda wasn't sure what the best answer would've been.

"Fine then." Dulcet shrugged, and plucked Luffy's strawhat off his head with a flick of his wrist.

"Hey, gimme back Hat!" Luffy screeched. The bandit leader waved it teasingly in front of him, showing no signs of giving it back.

"I'd rather it doesn't get in the way. Or worse, what if it gets dirty? How 'bout I hold onto it for a while?" With that, Dulcet stuck Hat on his own head. Luffy wanted to punch that grin right off his face. Punch and kick his stupid face until it was all bruises and Hat was back where it belonged and Ace and Sabo were out and they were all _gone_.

"Shanks gave that to me! It's not yours!" He screamed, struggling in Dulcet's grip.

"So I guess we'll do this the hard way." The bandit continued, unconcerned about the boy flailing to get free. "Kinda wanted to do it like this anyway. You know Bluejam, don't ya?" He pulled open a door on the floor, and began descending into the basement. It must have been a storehouse, Luffy's nose picked up on the scent of food immediately and he couldn't help but drool at all the meat as it came into view. Great chunks hung off of hooks from the ceiling.

"We have a buddy on Bluejam's crew. He's the one who tipped us off about you snot-noses and that devil fruit of yours actually. And he told us a funny story about how this kid got bashed around with hammers without a scratch." Said Dulcet as he walked through the storeroom.

Luffy squirmed a bit more, trying either for freedom or for meat. Both would've been good. But Dulcet ignored the struggling and instead stuck the boy on one of the free hooks so that he was hanging by the ropes around his arms. Slowly, Luffy realized he'd been here before, kinda. Not here in this room, but he'd been hanging like this before.

"Now, besides this guy, I used to have another friend on Bluejam's crew. Great drinking buddy. Did the best Jim Jackal impressions. And, well, don't let it be said that Porchemy never did anything for me. He helped me set this gig up y'know? Told me which marines to pay off. I'm gonna miss that guy." Dulcet smiled again as he pulled out his weapon of choice. At first it looked like just an ordinary bat, but in the darkness of the basement, Luffy could just make out the nails hammered into one end. He gulped, because pointy bits were never good news.

"Lemme go!" Luffy squirmed against the ropes. Yeah, he'd definitely been here before. Been in this same situation. Didn't make it any easier.

"Now, I'm gonna ask you that question again. And again. And you're gonna answer it correctly this time. Or the time after that. I'm patient. When you answer it instead of being cute, I'll stop. Maybe. Don't wanna rough you up too much before we start the selling season. And that's true, just a little. But I'm an honest man, and so I'll tell you straight. This is also a bit personal, kid. Consider this for Porchemy."

Grabbing Luffy's head in one giant hand, Dulcet paused a moment to widen his grin, then pushed the boy back. He raised his bat, and the nails somehow shone even in the dim light.

In Luffy's opinion, the downswing was the worst part.

* * *

><p><em>Happy birthday Ace! For your present, I beat up your brother! Haha...yeah. Best life decision ever. Oh Luffy. I love you, I really do. But it's so hard to write your voice convincingly. What goes on in that head of yours?<em>

_Well, uh, this took a while? My apologies. School is hard. Diff eqns was nasty, and don't get me started on thermo. I'm still traumatized. But hey, due to this awesome thing called iap, all I have during January is one class and some research work. Tons of writing time.  
><em>

_Thanks a ton to everyone who put this on their favorites/story alert'd this. And especially thanks to **Shiary, Allyanime, Minstrano, Setari, Ysaye, MetaLatias, Hi Genie, Rhirhirhi, Vi-Violence, Mikila94, and Pirate Queen ofthe 21st centry**! Your reviews really made me happy. Like, do a little dance in my seat happy.  
><em>

_Next time: an interlude, aka, how it happened. As always, let me know if anything needs improving/to be fixed! Pointers are golden. Happy new year!  
><em>


	5. Interlude: The Capture

**Interlude: The Capture**

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><p>Luffy had gotten lost again.<p>

Or rather, Ace and Sabo had lost track of him again.

But it wasn't their fault, really!

"That settles it." Ace grumbled as they scaled another mountain of trash in search of their wayward brother. "Next chance we get, we're gonna find a leash for him. There's gotta be one in here somewhere."

"Last time you said you were gonna build a pen to keep him in. Make up your mind will you?" Sabo countered, trying to sight their brother through a broken pair of binoculars he'd pilfered. Ace protested this under his breath; after all, it hadn't been a pen, what he'd really wanted was a cage with locks and moats and everything.

"Ah! Over there! Found him." Sabo paused, then frowned as he tried to readjust the binoculars and zoom in. "Looks like he's with somebody. An old guy? Wait, maybe a lady? What do you think Ace?" No response. The blond blinked, looking away from the binoculars to check the area around him. "Ace?"

Ace had already started running.

"Hey! Wait up!" Sabo squawked, and stumbling after his brother. It was tough to keep up with Ace, especially when he was fueled by that special brand of anger only Luffy could bring out.

"Luuuuuuuffy!" Ace roared, bounding over a last pile of trash and leaping into the air. Wailing a warcry, he tackled his brother to the ground. Luffy had just enough time to let out a manly squeak before impact. They rolled a few times before drifting to a stop, Ace of course finishing on top. "You idiot!" He continued, shaking Luffy all the while. "Stop running off!"

Seeing that their youngest brother was quickly turning blue, Sabo rushed over to pry Ace off, but somehow got caught up in the fight instead. A few scrapes and bruises and three black eyes later, the three brothers were done for the moment.

"Luffy, what the hell were you doing?" Sabo sighed. "We thought Bluejam got you or something." He wiped the blood from his nose and dusted off his hat, grumbling at the sting of broken skin. How had he gotten roped into that anyway?

At this, the almost forgotten little old lady cleared her throat. "If I may interject," she said, "his absence is my fault."

"This mean guy was hurting this lady, so I beat him up!" Luffy finished gleefully, obviously very proud of himself for bringing anyone down on his own. Sabo rolled his eyes and wiped the dirt and blood off his younger brother's face, because he obviously wasn't going to do it himself.

Ace snorted in disbelief. "You managed to fight somebody off? By yourself?"

"Indeed. He probably saved my life." The old lady said gravely. "This young man was quite brave. Though, I've never met such a young devil fruit user before."

Sabo frowned, taking a step between Luffy and the woman. People commenting on Luffy's powers were never a good sign. Sometimes, people tended to think it was actually the work of the devil. Witchburnings were all the rage these days, so he and Ace had saved their youngest brother from a few too many burning pyres.

Ace's oh-crap-Luffy-did-something-dumb-and-now-we're-in-trouble alarms were likewise triggered by the comment. "Oi, this isn't the place for ladies like you. What're you doing here in Grey Terminal?" He asked, suspicion heavy in his voice.

"Oh yes, I do live further out, closer to the treeline and away from all these ruffians. But, you see, I dropped my mirror when I was out scavenging the other day, with my sons. It was over by Mount Colomba I think. And it means so much to me, sentimental value you see, just couldn't bear to lose it forever. Your friend offered to escort me and help look for it, since my boys aren't back yet."

"Ace, Sabo, we should help! It'll be fun!" Cheered Luffy. He was back on his feet already, fidgeting and ready to keep moving.

Ace ignored his brother, and spoke only to the old lady. "What's in it for us?"

"As I told your friend, I am quite a good chef if I do say so myself. And you boys look like you could use some meat on your bones. I just finished smoking a rather large amount of meat, would you like some?" Of course Ace's stomach chose that moment to rumble unhappily. Of course. Well, they had been out all day.

Ace looked to Sabo for advice, raising an eyebrow as if to say 'Well?' Sabo frowned a little, but shrugged. He didn't see why not. They could deal with an old lady, and food was always good. Especially if she actually knew how to cook, all they knew how to do was stick stuff over a fire and hope it didn't burn.

"Fine." The older brother finally agreed, but the second he smelled something fishy, they were out. Bluejam was still searching for them, he wouldn't put it past the old guy to use some old lady as bait. Luffy cheered wildly, and the old lady smiled her general all-purpose old lady smile.

"It's only a little further I think." The old woman said as they began to walk together, carefully navigating the junk piles to avoid an avalanche. "I am just happy to have your help. You know, what with the kidnappers who have been loitering around here in recent times."

Ace scoffed at the warning, taking it as an insult to his knowledge of the going ons of Grey Terminal. If kidnappers had set up here, he would've known months ago. "Look lady, we've been here for a while and we've never heard that. You must be going senile. Why would they go after someone like you anyway?"

"For my cooking, obviously." She sniffed, finally taking offence to Ace's less than gentlemanly manners. "I already told you I know my way around a kitchen, and these ruffians would do anything for a decent woman in the kitchen."

Did this lady just not _get_ how the world worked? Kidnapping someone, not even some world renowned chef, just some nobody from Grey Terminal, for their cooking? Really? Definitely senile.

Ace was about to fire back something witty, truly he was, but Sabo quickly elbowed him in the side. Because really, what would insulting the lady's cooking do other than lose them a free lunch? Or as free as free could get.

"Now, senile as I may be, let us still be careful, alright?"

Luffy was almost skipping as he went along, humming the mystery mirror song (that Ace was convinced he'd just made up on the spot) as they checked the junk piles. It was worse than trying to find a needle in a haystack. She hadn't really given them a description, and any attempts to ask for one were met with frustratingly vague answers.

"Color? Oh, pink. Or maybe red. It might have been blue? Definitely not green…unless it _is_ green."

"Why yes, it had the cutest little flowers on the back. But those might actually have been polka dots, I'm not sure."

"Of course it is in one piece! That mirror is a treasured family heirloom, and I would _never_ let it be broken. Oh, though, now that I think about it, it might have cracked when I dropped it."

So all they really knew about the thing was that it was a mirror.

Sabo was about three seconds from pointing this out when there was a sudden cry.

"Ah! I found it!" Luffy squealed happily, pulling a battered yellow mirror from the pile he'd been searching. Brandishing it like a royal treasure instead of the trash it was, he gleefully presented it to the old lady. Still humming that stupid made-up song of course.

"That can't be it." Ace groaned in disbelief.

"Ah, that! That is my mirror!"

"Of course it is." Sabo sighed. He'd been so worried about matching it to a description, and Luffy had probably just grabbed the first one he'd found.

"Thank you, thank you so much. You're such good boys." The old lady gushed, hugging the mirror to her chest. Before Luffy had any idea what was going on, the lady had smacked a big giant thank you kiss on his forehead. Sabo and Ace froze in horror, terrified beyond belief.

_Cooties_.

Pulling upon years and years of training against wild beasts, Ace and Sabo dutifully dodged the lady as she came to bestow their thank you kisses. No cooties for them! They'd just take the meat and leave if they could. This was shaping up to be more of a chore than hunting. At least if they'd gone hunting for dinner, they would have gotten some actual exercise in.

In the background, Luffy sneezed violently, probably choking on whatever old lady perfume she bathed in. The older brothers gulped, if they weren't vigilant, that could have been _them_. It was terrifying just to think about. Infected and left to suffer and be smothered by some stinky smell.

The old lady frowned as she watched Luffy sneeze again, and Sabo didn't care how sad their rejection made her. He wasn't going through that if he could help it.

"Well, let us return then. My home is that way, and dinner should not take long." She said, smiling once more and beckoning the boys along. Sabo wasn't buying it, it was probably just a horrible death trap, with cooties and old lady lipstick waiting on the other end. He shoved Ace in front for use as a human shield. Predictably, Ace did the same exact thing with Luffy as his guard of choice.

"Yay! Meat!" Cried Luffy, utterly missing the point and bounding after the old lady. Somehow, he had the strength to pull them all along. At the mention of food, Sabo realized, Luffy had probably completely forgotten the cootie related trauma that had just befallen him. It was like it had never happened. Probably for the best, Sabo rationalized. There was a lower chance of post-traumatic stress this way.

"That was too easy." Ace grumbled, glancing up at lady leading the way. The three brothers trailed behind the older woman, leaving enough space for a hasty retreat if she tried to thank them again.

"What are you talking about?" Luffy argued. "It was really hard to find that thing!"

"Only because you're an idiot. Seriously, if even you could find it, it wasn't that hard." Ace spat back,

"Yeah, well, when I'm ten like you I'll be a lot smarter and, and…and you're just jealous that I found it first!"

"What? No!"

"Okay, that's enough you two. No more black eyes today." Sabo said, forcefully planting himself between the two. "Anymore and we'll all look like raccoons."

"He started it!" Luffy whined pitifully.

"I don't care who started it!" Sabo groused, hitting Luffy over the head. "Stop it!"

Luffy's face began to wobble in all the wrong places, something more severe than a childish whine was coming. Perhaps the dreaded babyish tears! As Sabo hurried to stop the floodgates, an amused chuckle from the old lady cut through the argument. He looked up, trying to figure out what about bodily harm and wimpy tears was so funny.

"I am sorry." She laughed lightly, wiping at her eyes with a handkerchief. "You boys, you just remind me so much of my own sons when they were younger. They fought just like you, laughed much the same as well."

Luffy, always looking for a good story, immediately turned his attention back to the lady. "When they were younger? What happened? Where are they now?"

"Well, they grew up of course. They grew up here, in Grey Terminal. I am afraid that they do not laugh as much anymore. Though, I am proud of them." She smiled, tucking her handkerchief back into a pocket.

"Proud? What'd they do?" Luffy pestered before either of his brothers could get a word in edgewise.

"Well, I told you about the kidnappers," she paused to send a sharp glance in Ace's direction and Sabo fought hard to hold in a giggle, "and I am _not_ senile. A younger girl was taken a few nights ago. She does not have any parents of course, but my boys were so outraged, they have gone off to save her."

If there was a sound effect for hero-worship, Luffy would've been blaring it. "Awesome! They're heroes!" He crowed.

"I like to think so."

Luffy suddenly gained a mad sparkle in his eyes, the kind Sabo had become wary of. "Hey, hey, we should go help _them_! We can be heroes too!"

"Denied!" Ace and Sabo chorused as one, frantically crossing their arms over their chests. First the giant turtle eggs, then the slip down the waterfall, then the disappearing act in Grey Terminal; Today had been all about Luffy antics, and a day of that was more than enough to last a while.

"Well, I appreciate the thought." The lady said as she smiled and lead them on.

The group passed through a few more piles, finally slowing on the edge of the forest. A rundown hut had been thrown together, largely identical to the various other 'homes' in Grey Terminal. Idly, Sabo took notice of the laundry hanging on the line. Last time he'd checked, old ladies didn't wear boxers. So she did have sons, or at the very least, had their underwear.

Before Sabo realized it, they'd been ushered inside and made to sit around an overturned packaging carton that was probably supposed to be a table.

"Now," the lady said as she set down a large platter of smoked meats, "who is hungry?"

Luffy didn't even bother answering, he just made a mad dive for the plate. Ace's fist stopped him before he got too far though, it had a tendency to do that.

As their younger brother nursed his new bump, Ace leveled a not-quite-glare at the older woman. "Why don't you have some first?" He suggested in a tone that meant it was actually a demand.

"But Ace! I'm sooooooo hungry." If in nothing else, at least Luffy was predictable when it came to food.

The woman took it all with a smile. "My, I must wonder, what have you boys endured to be so wary? You are all so brave to be living here, and obviously you have good heads on your shoulders too! It is quite adorable." She gushed.

"Just try the food." Ace grumbled, pink dusting his cheeks. It took every ounce of willpower Sabo had to hold back a snort of laughter. Young or old, Ace was always a sucker for ladies complementing him.

"If that will make you happy."

Nodding, Ace tore off bits of the meat at random and handed them over. Unworried, the woman swallowed each bite, daintily wiping her mouth with a napkin afterwards. The older brothers gave it a few minutes, both watching for any signs of drug-induced anything, and saw nothing.

At this point, Luffy was gnawing on the table.

"Well? Go ahead." She beckoned.

And that was all the encouragement Luffy needed. Sabo had just enough time to grab a hunk of something for himself before the human vacuum began devouring all in sight, edible or not.

"More!"

"Of course, of course."

It was around the third helping that Sabo noticed the world dimming. At first, he thought it might be a power outage, or maybe a storm rolling in. But, no, it was just…just dark? Dark, and it was hard, like, _really _hard to stay awake. So hard. Napping sounded great. Maybe he'd take a nap.

Dimly, Sabo heard a thump, then another. Like looking through fog, Sabo saw that Luffy had fallen over, and Ace had slumped onto the table. Out cold, the both of them.

"Wha-?" He tried to get up, to check on his brothers, do something, but the ground jerked itself out from under his feet.

They'd been had!

But how? She'd tried all the food; hell, she was still eating! He hadn't smelled anything, tasted anything. But that old witch was fine and…and…

And then Sabo slept.

* * *

><p><em>Originally, this was gonna be the first chapter. But I liked the idea of Sabo waking up with no clue better. So, uh, here's the interlude? Because this is actually kinda sorta pretty important.<em>

_Thanks a bunch to everybody who read, and super mega awesome triple thanks to __**Hi Genie**__, __**Shiary**__, __**Llaelien**__, __**Vi-Violence**__, and **Empty Puppet** who all reviewed. What can I say? Reading nice things makes me happy._

_Next time: An unhappy reunion._

_Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think. I'd much rather fix stuff than have people read and runaway because my characterization doesn't work or my plot has holes._


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